Mulally’s plan is to utilize Ford’s global resources to improve efficiency and to shed the current workforce by up to 25,000 through voluntary redundancies. Boisterous about the success of the Ford Fusion sedan and its line of large pickups and SUVs, Mulally acknowledged the need for a "more robust plan across the product line," to reduce the dependency on its core products.
The final line of attack will be with a planned meeting between the heads of General Motors and Chrysler Group and with President George W. Bush next Tuesday on the issue of exchange rates, commodity prices, tariffs, health care and pension benefits. More specific plans include the reduction of capacity to meet lower demand for its vehicles and to increase the level of investment on new vehicles, engines and transmissions while reducing the number of platforms the company uses worldwide.
